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Mississippi Edition: Thursday, March 3rd

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by Sid Scott on

Stock Photo: Vaccination

Pan America Health Org./Flickr

Vaccination Rules Potentially To Change

A bill that would expand medical exemptions for state childhood vaccination requirements is making its way through the Legislature. The bill passed the House yesterday on a 65-54 vote after heated debate. It would remove the requirement that the state Department of Health approve a doctor’s request for vaccination exemptions. Dr. Thomas Dobbs -- state epidemiologist -- told MPB's Paul Boger the Health Department tries to balance vaccine exemption requests with its mission of preserving public health.

Taxi Drivers Sue Jackson

Two Mississippi taxi cab drivers are suing the city of Jackson, saying restrictive regulations make starting their own business difficult. To operate a taxi company in Jackson, a person must be a Mississippi resident for six months prior to applying and have a Jackson business license, an office in Jackson staffed 24 hours a day, and at least eight vehicles. Attorney Mike Hurst told MPB's Maura Moed the regulations protect existing cab companies from new competitors -- and give favor to Uber -- the personal taxi app.

Southern Education Desk, Part 3

Given thousands of related jobs but only hundreds of computer-science college graduates, Alabama is trying to ramp up its computer science education. That includes a new policy allowing those classes to count toward core math requirements. WBHM’s Dan Carsen concludes the Southern Education Desk series “Priming the Pipeline for STEM in the South.” He visits a Birmingham-area class that’s leading the way.

Book Club

When Murrah High opened its doors for the start of the school year in 1969, it seemed like everything had changed. That fall the school was integrated, mixing black and white students for the first time in school history. A new book -- Lines Were Drawn: Remembering Court-Ordered Integration At A Mississippi High School -- looks back at those years through oral history and research. The book's editors were all members of the Murrah High Class of 1973. One of the editors -- Alan Huffman -- spoke with us in today's Book Club. He said the book is meant to be a record of that time.